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Gere apologises for Shetty kiss
Gere apologises for Shetty kiss
Saturday April 28, 2007
Hollywood star Richard Gere, ordered arrested by an Indian court for kissing Bollywood star Shilpa Shetty, offered on Friday a "sincere apology" for any offence he caused.
Gere's statement came a day after the court issued an arrest warrant against him for "obscene" behavior for embracing Shetty and planting several kisses on her cheeks during an AIDS awareness event in New Delhi earlier this month.
"What is most important to me is that my intentions as an HIV/AIDS advocate be made clear and that my friends in India understand that it has never been nor could it ever be, my intention to offend you," said Gere in the statement issued to the Indian media.
"If that has happened, of course it is easy for me to offer a sincere apology," said the actor, who is back in the United States.
The incident triggered a public storm in India, known for its chaste public behaviour despite Bollywood's sexually suggestive song-and-dance routines.
Radical Hindus burned effigies of the 57-year-old Gere in India's entertainment hub of Mumbai and organised street rallies in New Delhi.
In his statement addressed to "My dear Indian friends," Gere said "to be honest, this recent media storm has taken me by surprise."
"What we thought was a very successful HIV/AIDS event has taken a sad turn," he said.
"The evening and event in question was intended to celebrate courageous people and partnerships in the supremely important fight against HIV/AIDS, a worldwide pandemic which has afflicted over five million Indians and is still increasing," he said.
The warrant for Gere and a summons for Shetty were issued in the Rajasthan state capital of Jaipur on Thursday following a public interest plea filed last week by lawyer Poonam Chand Bhandari, who accused the pair of obscenity.
The magistrate issued the warrant under a section of the penal code which states that anyone who commits "any obscene act in any public place shall be punished with imprisonment of three months or with a fine or both."
AFP
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